Wage and Hour Division (WHD)

Printer-Friendly Version

Press Releases

SAN FRANCISCO -- Care Hawaii, a Honolulu-based outpatient mental health provider, has paid $409,771 in back wages to 226 current and former employees who were improperly classified as exempt, following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor. All of the affected employees held social worker positions.

Investigators from the department’s Wage and Hour Division determined that the workers did not receive overtime pay as required by the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The FLSA requires that employers pay non-exempt employees no less than one and one-half times their regular rates of pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. The employees have received back wages for work performed between August 2004 and July 2006.

The company also failed to keep complete records of all hours worked. Under the FLSA, employers must maintain adequate and accurate records of employees’ wages, hours and other conditions of employment.

Care Hawaii provides services for children, adolescents and adults in 13 offices and residential facilities throughout the state of Hawaii. The company and its owners, Dennis and Tina McLaughlin of Oahu, worked with the Labor Department to resolve the issues identified in the investigation and to pay the back wages.

“This action reflects the Department of Labor’s commitment to protecting overtime rights and ensuring that workers receive the wages they have earned,” said George Friday Jr., regional administrator of the Wage and Hour Division’s Western region. “The company’s cooperation is a model for others in resolving overtime pay issues amicably, with the common goal of compliance.”

The Wage and Hour Division offers a Web site, www.wagehour.dol.gov, to help employers. The site provides more information about the FLSA and an online tool for determining overtime eligibility – the elaws FLSA Overtime Security Advisor – at www.dol.gov/elaws/overtime.htm. The Wage and Hour Division recovered more than $171 million in back wages for over 246,000 workers and assessed nearly $7.9 million in civil money penalties in federal fiscal year 2006.

Information about the FLSA is also available from the Wage and Hour Division’s Hawaii office at (808) 541-1361 or the Department of Labor’s toll-free help line at (866) 4US-WAGE (487-9243).

###

U.S. Department of Labor releases are accessible on the Internet at www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office upon request. Please specify which news release when placing your request at (202) 693-7828 or TTY (202) 693-7755. The Labor Department is committed to providing America’s employers and employees with easy access to understandable information on how to comply with its laws and regulations. For more information, please visit www.dol.gov/compliance.